These ethnic delicacies are made and sold fresh daily from inside the transportable diner.

Segobia is especially proud to have pupusas on her daily menu. She described this culinary delight as a “puffed corn tortilla made with freshly prepared meat and a lightly sautéed vegetable medley.”

The foods Dora’s serves customers are derived from family recipes and are hand made. Few of the main ingredients are prepackaged.

The business opened in 2012 and, although not a member of the Russellville Chamber of Commerce, according to a chamber official, it has seen growth.

Segobia said that it has “not been busy now due to the weather,” but the mobile-restaurant sees “new customers every day.” The majority of orders placed at Dora’s are from patrons who drive to or by its South Arkansas location. Dora’s has a number of steady daily orders that are placed in advance by returning clientèle.

“No phone orders yet,” said Segobia.

When asked if Dora’s experiences any difficulty with food safety or sanitation issues, Segobia responded, “No, we have passed all of our health inspections with no issues or warnings” from the Pope County Health Department.

Pope County Health restaurant inspector Jeremy Hale said Dora’s has met all the criteria necessary to operate and has passed all inspections. Hale asserted that, in general, Dora’s and similar mobile eateries are subject to “the same assessment as a fixed establishment.” The primary difference is in the way the water supply is obtained and disposed of.

According to Hale, fresh water must come from a certified supply, like from a municipality. Separate holding tanks are used for fresh water and for waste water. Mobile drive-ups usually have agreements with local vendors for city water supply and are allowed to contract licensed waste water companies to come in and haul waste water to county and city approved discharge sites. Some owners are in a location where they can install regular fresh water feeds and tie into city sewer lines.

As far as problems and complaints go, Hale said there is no real trend and “they are the same as fixed establishments; it happens from time to time.”

He said the main problem this type of food business really presents is identification. Hale mentioned the experience he had when dealing with vendors during the Pope County Fair and other seasonal events that take place in our area.

“A problem arises when they move from one county to another,” said Hale. “It is difficult to track inspection information and certification if they move without giving notification of their new location.”

Hale said this type of drive-up short order food vendor “seems to be more popular compared to seven or eight years ago.” Relative to their industry counterparts, they have the same risk factors and undergo the same inspection scrutiny as a fixed, dine-in restaurant.